第36部分(第3/7 頁)

lse　we　might　do　in　all　the　rest　of　our　lives　was　secondary　to　that　one　thing：　we　had　to　finish　with　Delacroix。　〃Roll；　for　Christ's　sake！　Roll；　roll；　roll！〃

I　turned　to　Brutal；　hardly　aware　of　the　people　talking　behind　us　now；　some　on　their　feet；　a　couple　screaming。　〃Quit　that！〃　I　yelled　at　Brutal。　〃No　water！　No　water！　Are　you　nuts？〃

Brutal　turned　toward　me；　a　kind　of　dazed　understanding　on　his　face。　Throw　water　on　a　man　who　was　getting　the　juice。　Oh　yes。　That　would　be　very　smart。　He　looked　around；　saw　the　chemical　fire　extinguisher　hanging　on　the　wall；　and　got　that　instead。　Good　boy。

The　mask　had　peeled　away　from　Delacroix's　face　enough　to　reveal　features　that　had　gone　blacker　than　John　Coffey's。　His　eyes；　now　nothing　but　misshapen　globs　of　white；　filmy　jelly；　had　been　blown　out　of　their　sockets　and　lay　on　his　cheeks。　His　eyelashes　were　gone；　and　as　I　looked；　the　lids　themselves　caught　fire　and　began　to　burn。　Smoke　puffed　from　the　open　V　of　his　shirt。　And　still　the　humming　of　the　electricity　went　on　and　on；　filling　my　head；　vibrating　in　there。　I　think　it's　the　sound　mad　people　must　hear；　that　or　something　like　it。

Dean　started　forward；　thinking　in　some　dazed　way　that　he　could　beat　the　fire　out　of　Del's　shirt　with　his　hands；　and　I　yanked　him　away　almost　hard　enough　to　pull　him　off　his　feet。　Touching　Delacroix　at　that　point　would　have　been　like　Brer　Rabbit　punching　into　the　Tar…Baby。　An　electrified　Tar…Baby；　in　this　case。

I　still　didn't　turn　around　to　see　what　was　going　on　behind　us；　but　it　sounded　like　pandemonium；　chairs　falling　over；　people　bellowing；　a　woman　crying　〃Stop　it；　stop　it；　oh　can't　you　see　he's　had　enough？〃　at　the　top　of　her　lungs。　Curtis　Anderson　grabbed　my　shoulder　and　asked　what　was　happening；　for　Christ's　sake；　what　wa